This paper presents a research study and its findings regarding the use of safety equipment by correctional officers, and whether the policies and practices that are currently in place are effective or should be adjusted.
This paper reports on a study that had four primary goals: to describe what safety equipment modalities are currently used in a sample of state-level adult correctional institutions in the United States; to highlight the rationale for using those modalities; to describe the policy attributes and training associated with those modalities; and to lay groundwork for future work regarding the effectiveness of the modalities currently used. The paper presents the research methodology, including case study facilities and methods; and results from policies and procedures, incident reviews, interviews, and direct observations. The conclusion discusses several important themes and findings that resulted from this examination of the effects of correctional safety equipment on correctional officer safety.